There are innumerable theories on the October 27th 1970 Halloween card, including here on this site, but none have adequately explained the strange symbol on the upper left corner of the envelope or the foot of the card inner. The cattle brandingwas a good idea, yet it conveniently ignored the four dots present in the design. In both instances, on the envelope and card, the symbol was followed by the letter Z. This lends credence to the notion, it represents a statement followed by his signature. The Zodiac, from November 8th 1969 to March 13th 1971, was fairly consistent in giving us a running victim total, with the only two notable exceptions being the April 28th 1970 Dragon card and the July 24th 1970 Kathleen Johns letter. With respect to the Dragon card, he had given us 10 victims only eight days earlier, so clearly there was no update on the total, and with respect to Kathleen Johns, she survived the encounter so no update was necessary. The Zodiac Killer repeated the victim count of 13 on the October 5th 1970 '13 Hole' postcard because his previous letter proclaiming 13 victims had not been published in the newspapers at this juncture, The July 26th 1970 Little List letter proclaimed 13 victims, while the October 27th 1970 Halloween card issued us with the number 14, indicating that victim 14 possibly lay between these two dates.

We know the Zodiac Killer was responsible for 5 victims - the rest he inferred by increasing his total periodically. The only victim we know of between July 26th 1970 and October 27th 1970 that was subsequently claimed by Zodiac, was Donna Ann Lass, who disappeared from the Sahara Tahoe Hotel & Casino in the early morning hours of September 6th 1970. We know he was insinuating his involvement in her disappearance because of the March 22nd 1971 Pines card mailed to Paul Avery at the San Francisco Chronicle, just like this communication.

However, although believed murdered, the body of Donna Lass has never been found - and on October 27th 1970 she was still classified as missing. Therefore, any running victim total on this card may reflect the current status regarding Donna Lass within its design. The March 22nd 1971 Pines card teased us with the possible location of where her burial site may be found, by placing a punched hole in the top right corner. Why should this communication be any different, when we consider the design in the top left corner of the envelope and the same design placed within the card, not withstanding, that victim 14 should have fell between July 26th 1970 and October 27th 1970, which the disappearance of Donna Lass did.

The numerous eyes spattered over the entire card should have told us we need to be looking for something - or more specifically - looking for victim number 14. I have considered the possibility of the symbols being interpreted as "Zodiac Victims Fourteen" or "Zodiac Fourteen", but this doesn't adequately explain the four dots present in the design. It also doesn't make any sense with respect to the letter Z accompanying it on either the envelope or card inner. The phrase created would read "Zodiac Victims Fourteen, Zodiac" or "Zodiac Fourteen, Zodiac". There has to be another answer, incorporating the design of the card and the 13 eyes splashed all over its face. The 13 eyes suggestive of only 13 deceased victims, looking for the 14th victim. The Zodiac Killer would eventually claim his involvement in the disappearance of Donna Lass, so the Halloween card "looking for the fourteenth victim" makes perfect sense with respect to the dates. Take a look at the card below.

If we follow the green, yellow and blue rectangles in that order, it can be seen how this spells out "look for fourteen". If we follow the green, yellow and blue circles in that order, it can also be interpreted as "look for fourteen". The first part of the strange symbol isn't structured like the letter Z or the number 7, because the top angle is ninety degrees. However, it can be interpreted as the letter L. The four dots representing "four" or "for", with the F representing 14, as displayed on the hand of the skeleton and by the 4-TEEN above it. The phrase now reads coherently: "look for fourteen, Zodiac". In view of the fact that Donna Lass went missing on September 6th 1970, and his later Pines card communication insinuating his involvement in her disappearance, the running victim total (placed into this design) reading "look for fourteen, Zodiac" isn't so far-fetched.

With both of these communications (Pines and Halloween) being addressed to Paul Avery, it is easy to consider a correlation between the two, even if the Zodiac Killer was behind the disappearance of Donna Lass or not. The "sought victim 12" attribution on the Pines card a whole different story.

Most, if not all Zodiac forums and websites classify the January 29th 1974 Exorcist letter as confirmed Zodiac correspondence. It is widely touted by law enforcement, newspapers and documentaries as the last confirmed Zodiac communication, and in a poll conducted on this site, 86% of visitors believe it to be genuine Zodiac material. This mailing was listed in the 2000 San Francisco 'Suspected Zodiac Correspondence' DNA Report as one of the communications processed for DNA. The subsequent 1974 letters were not processed for DNA, otherwise the report would have stated this. Since the Exorcist letter was widely considered to be the last confirmed Zodiac communication, it would therefore make perfect sense that this took priority over the Citizen Card and Red Phantom letter to be the only 1974 correspondence tested.

Mike Rodelli wrote in his book, 'The Hunt for Zodiac:The Inconceivable Double Life of a Notorious Serial Killer', that Alan Keel, Criminalist at the San Francisco Police Department, San Francisco, California from 1996 to 1999 "revealed that there were two letters in possession of the department that, in contrast to the "true" Zodiac letters, had abundant saliva and DNA-containing oral epithelial cells on them, that DNA was easily extracted from these two letters, and that the DNA extracted from these two letters matched between them. These two letters were considered forgeries, since the "true" Zodiac verifiable letters had not been licked by the sender." Mike Rodelli added that "In contrast (to earlier communications), Keel analyzed two other letters, one of which is the 1978 forgery, and finds that this letter and one of the 1974 letters are loaded with saliva and cells. He then easily extracts DNA from both of these letters using the more primitive DNA technology of that time and finds that the DNA matches between those two letters, thus proving that one person sent both."

For two letters to have a definitive match of DNA they must have a complete profile. A partial DNA profile from one letter compared to a full DNA profile of the other could only be used to exclude them as having been licked by the same person, not conclusively tie them together as having a single contributor. Since the Exorcist letter appeared to be the only 1974 letter processed for DNA, it can be argued from Alan Keel's statement that the two letters that matched in DNA were the 1978 letter and Exorcist letter. If the San Francisco DNA report concluded that the 1978 letter was "not an authentic Zodiac letter", then there is a strong possibility that neither was the Exorcist letter.

For those who resolutely argue that the Exorcist letter is a genuine Zodiac communication, may have to accept the authenticity of the 1978 letter too. According to all the above observations, these two communications are inextricably linked by one sender. In early 2018 Vallejo police Detective Terry Poyser, who has worked the Zodiac case for four years, said his agency has submitted two envelopes (in late 2017) that contained letters from the Zodiac Killer for a type of advanced DNA analysis that previously had not been available in the case. Poyser declined to identify the lab, but said it would attempt to obtain a full DNA profile from saliva on the envelope flap and stamps. He said he expected to have results back from the lab as soon as in the next few weeks, and almost certainly by summer. Sacramento Bee.

Why are they attempting to find a full DNA profile, when presumably they have already achieved a full DNA profile, according to Alan Keel and the San Francisco Police Department DNA report? They cannot claim the 1978 letter as "not an authentic Zodiac letter" in a DNA report, unless a full profile exists. Furthermore, how did they ascertain the 1978 letter was not Zodiac, unless they knew who licked the envelope and stamp seal - and knew that person wasn't Zodiac. They couldn't ascertain the 1978 letter wasn't Zodiac by comparing it authenticated early Zodiac material, because seemingly these had not yielded a full DNA profile as we stand today. They clearly seem to have little faith in the Exorcist letter either, because if this has generated a full DNA profile in the past, but they are still "attempting to obtain a full DNA profile from saliva" today, then I presume this invalidates their confidence in its authenticity.

Tom Voigt recently began a forum thread on the Zodiac Killer message board entitled Vallejo Police Department DNA Update, stating "The lab work has turned into more lab work. VPD is still at it. The hunt continues..." Why are they still hunting for viable DNA when apparently a full profile has been secured previously? Even if law enforcement have little confidence in the Exorcist and 1978 letter, these would have provided the best options to run through a genealogy website 18 months ago and the results would have been in by now had anything fruitful been generated. Unless of course, you already know who forged both of these letters. I see no benefit in not seeking profiles from these two letters (generated from the 1978 letter and another, if different to suggested) to enter into a familial DNA program. If the familial search threw out a notable family tree, or the lineage of a recognized Zodiac suspect, then it would add credence to the previously doubted Zodiac communication.

For the 60% of people who voted on this site, believing the 1978 letter to be from the hand of the Zodiac Killer, the question you should be asking is, why did the the 2000 San Francisco DNA Report determine the 1978 correspondence to be "not an authentic Zodiac letter" if they hadn't already obtained a full DNA profile to make such an authoritative and conclusive judgement? The only other reasonable conclusion, is that they already know who the author is. ​

The circumstances of a payphone call 40 minutes after the Blue Rock Springs attack, being made from a location only 10 minutes journey time from the crime scene, has generated the idea of a killer who lived extremely close to the Springs and Tuolumne intersection in Vallejo. The over-detailed description of a negro-male eyewitness, generously offered by the author in his August 4th 1969 communication, testimony that the murderer was making the phone call accompanied by his car, His unnecessary phraseology of "when I hung the phone up the damn thing began to ring & that drew his attention to me + my car", can be construed as a man attempting to sell us the idea that he was not on foot. This laid the notion of a ruthless killer who separated himself from his vehicle, weapon and clothing, before making the risky phone call so near to the Vallejo Police Department. He also admitted to hearing the 'trace' on the payphone, indicating that he was still within earshot of the payphone when it rang. This is important, because if the ring-back hadn't occurred within approximately 20 seconds, he would have been long gone in his vehicle.

There is also a distinct possibility the slayer of Darlene Ferrin had blood transfer on his t-shirt, as he leaned over the passenger side seat of the 1963 brown Corvair in order to shoot Michael Mageau as he took refuge in the rear of the vehicle. Michael Mageau later described a heavyset man of 26-30 years, standing at about 5'8'' tall, beefy build, but not blubbery fat, possibly 195-200 pounds, short curly light brown hair, almost blond. He stated the assailant's vehicle was similar to Darlene's brown Corvair, possibly lighter in color. The accuracy of these statements must be seen in context to the very brief time he was given to view the subject. Nevertheless, these were his recollections documented in the police report.

Nearly one month after the attack on July 31st 1969, three letters were mailed to the San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Examiner and Vallejo Times-Herald threatening more murder and mayhem. Speculation inevitably arose after the Blue Rock Springs attack, as to whether Darlene Ferrin was specifically targeted by the killer, after three further suspicious phone calls were received in the early morning hours of July 5th. Much has been discussed regarding these phone calls, received at the 1300 Virginia Street residence of Darlene Ferrin, and the 930 Monterey Street residence of Mr Arthur J Ferrin and Mrs Mildred Ferrin at approximately 01:30 am, just one and a half hours after the murder of Darlene Ferrin and attempted murder of Michael Mageau at Blue Rock Springs.

Using the descriptors above, I went in search of a young male, heavyset, brownish hair, around 5'8", driving a vehicle similar or the same as the brown Corvair of Darlene Ferrin. This subject must also have had the ability to drive from Blue Rock Springs to a residence close to the payphone, so he could ditch his vehicle, weapon and clothing, and still walk to the payphone by 12:40 am and place the call to police dispatcher Nancy Slover. The murderer issued the message "I want to report a double murder. If you will go one mile east...... on Columbus Parkway to the public park, you will find the kids in a brown car. They were shot with a 9 mm Luger. I also killed those kids last year.... Good-bye". The wording of the killer gave the impression that he was unaware of the crime having already been discovered. Was he a resident close to the Vallejo Police Department and had not heard or seen the 'surge' of patrol cars heading along Solano Avenue to Springs Road?- which didn't happen. The answer to all the above observations already lay on page 42 of the Blue Rock Springs police report.

Darlene Ferrin

Page 42: At 12:55 pm on 9-9-69 an anonymous letter was received at Vallejo PD stating "Badly rusted beat up Corvair getting a bright green paint job at 909 Georgia. Owner about 25, 5'9", over 200 lbs, brownish thinning hair, sloppy fat, strange acting. Lives with parents. Calif BTU 179. With Sgt Kramer observed this car at the corner of Georgia and Monterey Streets, BTU 179. Car has maroon (brownish red) top, light green hood and dark green panels. Car is 1963 Corvair 2-door. Checked the registration of the car and it reflects that Patrick, 909 Georgia Street. Went to that address and contacted Patrick Dennis, WMA, 23 years, dob 3-19-46. Is employed as a stevedore at Port Chicago.

Patrick states that on 7-4-69 he went to the fireworks display at the waterfront and from there he went home. States that he parked his car in front of the house at 11:30 pm and did not leave after that time. Patrick's mother Delores was present and verified Patrick's statement. Patrick doesn't own a gun and he did not know Darlene Ferrin. Patrick states that the car can be started without a key but he is sure no one else used the car as it was in the same place in the morning as it was the night before. This car apparently has a bad oil leak as the street in front of the house showed oil on the pavement as though the car was leaking oil. FamilyTreeNow.

The similarities are likely unconnected, but 909 Georgia Street is the type of residence we should be looking for - if you buy into the notion of a killer walking to the payphone that morning. An approximate 10 minute drive home, 10 minutes to ditch the vehicle, weapon and clothes, before readying onself for the 15-20 minute journey to the payphone and placing the 12:40 am call to Nancy Slover. And... in a location to have not seen or heard the patrol cars leaving the Vallejo Police Department up Solano Avenue. This location (as the crow flies) is 400 meters from the Vallejo Police Department, 600 meters from Darlene Ferrin's residence, 400 meters from Solano Avenue, 500 meters from the old Vallejo Times-Herald office and 5/8 of a mile from the Springs and Tuolumne payphone. However, if the August 4th 1969 letter wasn't selling us one big red herring, then all of the above is superfluous.

The December 16th 1969 Fairfield letter has its own unique design, written on lined paper threatening "government life" and 38 cops in San Francisco, San Jose, Vallejo, Napa, Fairfield, Sacramento and Oakland. This correspondence was not released to the newspapers, thereby making any subsequent letter mirroring this communication all the more significant. Any future author could not be accused of copycatting the Zodiac Killer using the Fairfield letter as their guide. That is what makes the "Jimmy Carter" letter, mailed on June 8th 1977, so very interesting when placed alongside the 'Zodiac letter' from December 16th 1969.

The FBI files stated "Enclosed for the bureau is one copy of a letter threatening to kill numerous political figures and television personalities and envelope postmarked Sacramento, California 6/8/77. For information of the bureau, on 6/9/77, the Sacramento Bee newspaper received the enclosed letter and information was developed that captioned subject was currently under indictment for threatening to kill the president and a check with U.S. Secret Service, Sacramento, confirmed this. On 6/9/77 Assistant U.S. Attorney Donald Heller, Sacramento, determined that redacted had been sentenced that day for violation of Title 18, section 871, Threats to Kill the President to an indeterminate sentence under the Youth Corrections Act. Based on this information, Assistant U.S. Attorney Donald Heller advised he would consider no further prosecution of captioned subject. On 6/19/77, the originals of the enclosed letter and envelope were turned over to the U.S. Secret Service Agent to be made a part of their case".

The candidates threatened high on the list are elected government officials from the Democratic Party, followed by television personalities - with President Jimmy Carter top of the hit list of 30. The December 16th 1969 Fairfield letter also threatened "government life", with 38 people placed in a similar list at the foot of the letter Two letters, both on lined paper, separated by nearly eight years, and both promising to kill 30+ people. Let us take a closer look at the Jimmy Carter and Fairfield letter alongside each other. The Fairfield letter has been placed beneath the Jimmy Carter letter in the image below.

I have highlighted certain areas of interest in blue, green and red. In the Jimmy Carter letter the author begins with "this letter has been written to tell the people", whereasinthe Fairfield letter the author begins with "I just want to tell you". The Jimmy Carter letter then threatens the "following people to be killed", with the Fairfield letter stating "I will kill more people". And finally, the Jimmy Carter letter concludes with "you better carry out the demand", with the Fairfield letter ending with "you better print". Not withstanding the similar construct and tone of each letter, along with the lined paper, the handwriting is comparable. Furthermore, if we compare these two letters with the threat letter to Richard Nixon (more government life) on May 14th 1973, we see a pattern. The December 16th 1969, May 14th 1973 and June 8th 1977 letters, all begin with either "to tell you that", "to tell you this" and "to tell the people".

I thought I would take another look at the December 16th 1969 Fairfield letter in which Zodiac stated "I will kill more people than you cops can count so look for more blood". The Zodiac Killer accompanied his lined letter with the large drawing of a knife entitled "The Bleeding Knife of Zodiac". I had always believed this to be a crude reference to the brutal stabbing of Cecelia Shepard and Bryan Hartnell on September 27th 1969, however, the answer may lie elsewhere - to be found in the November 12th 1969 edition of the San Francisco Chronicle.

In an article with the header "I've Killed Seven, The Zodiac Claims" by Paul Avery, the article begins with "San Jose Girls May Be Victims" and continues "Beyond leaving several cryptic clues indicating that the newly revealed killings occurred last August, possibly in San Jose, Zodiac's latest correspondence - a long rambling letter and a contemporary greeting card - revealed nothing as to who the two victims were".

Law enforcement and the newspapers had long posed the question as to whether Zodiac had any involvement in the brutal stabbing murders of the two young San Jose girls. The two teenagers, Debra Gaye Furlong (14) and Kathy Ann Snoozy (15), had been savagely attacked with a short-bladed knife on August 3rd 1969. Therefore, it didn't come as much of a surprise when the Zodiac Killer bolstered his victim total to seven murders on November 8th 1969, when he mailed the 'Dripping Pen Card' to the San Francisco Chronicle. After the attack on Cecelia Shepard and Bryan Hartnell at Lake Berryessa, followed by the message on the car door, a depiction of a fountain pen dripping with blood probably seemed like an apt choice by the Zodiac Killer.

I couldn't help noticing the similarities between the Dripping Pen and Dripping Knife of Zodiac, particularly because of the seven blood drops falling from the knife correlating with his "I've Killed Seven" claims in the greeting card and the addition of "Aug" in his chronological victim count. We know he was responsible for five murders, that of David Faraday, Betty Lou Jensen, Darlene Ferrin, Cecelia Shepard and Paul Stine - but had now tagged victims six and seven onto his running total. These two extra victims were Debra Furlong and Kathy Snoozy.

Five weeks later, on December 16th 1969, he effectively rejoiced in these murders by mailing the "The Bleeding Knife of Zodiac" correspondence, which depicted seven drops of blood falling from a knife - one for each victim - and fashioned like his Dripping Pen card. The Zodiac Killer, inspired by the Deborah Furlong and Kathy Snoozy murders on August 3rd 1969 and its coverage on the front page of the Chronicle three days later, launched his callous knife attack at Lake Berryessa seven weeks later, resulting in the premature death of Cecelia Shepard. The Zodiac Killer was hoping the attack on the shores of Lake Berryessa would augment the belief of law enforcement to his involvement in the San Jose murders. This is why he wrote August on the Dripping Pen card, bumped his total up to seven and then boldly exhibited the "The Bleeding Knife of Zodiac" on December 16th 1969 with seven drops of blood.

December 16th 1969

Four days later, on December 20th 1969, the Zodiac Killer mailed the Melvin Belli letter containing a piece of Paul Stine's blood-soaked shirt, confirming its authenticity. Ironical then, that the Zodiac Killer wrote "look for more blood" in his previous correspondence. The Melvin Belli letter attempted to depict a killer who was losing control and searching for a ninth and tenth victim. Bearing in mind the two brutal attacks perpetrated with a knife, was the Melvin Belli letter attempting to paint a picture of a bloodthirsty maniac, looking for two more victims picnicking alongside a scenic backdrop?

The drawing of a 'bleeding knife' not a direct reference to the "by knife" phrase written on the car door of Bryan Hartnell at Lake Berryessa, but more of a triumphant claim of his involvement in two brutal knife attacks in the Bay Area. It would take nearly two years to conclusively expose this deception, coming with the arrest of Karl Francis Werner in late April of 1971. Regardless, the Zodiac Killer wasn't finished yet.

Using some material from previous articles, here we will show how the March 22nd 1971 'Pines' postcard was designed to pinpoint the burial location of Donna Lass by overlaying it on a map. That location is Donner Memorial State Park - but whether or not she can be found here is another matter. The reason I believe this was the meaning behind the 'Pines' card, is because the Zodiac Killer mailed an extremely similar card just under 4 months later. The 'Monticello' postcard was postmarked July 13th 1971 and also contained pasted words on its face with familiar language. These postcards were designed with respect to Donna Lass, who disappeared from the Sahara Tahoe Hotel on September 6th 1970, and Kathy Bilek, who was murdered in the Villa Montalvo woods on April 11th 1971. ​

​It is my belief that the 'Monticello' card, not only had some woods or trees on its face, but had a punch-hole in the top right corner, exactly like the 'Pines' card. Both of these punch-holes designed to sit over the burial location of two victims claimed by the Zodiac Killer, but not necessarily Kathy Bilek despite the postcard being designed with her in mind. Both postcards contain helpful directions - and both lead to a memorial for two claimed Zodiac victims. It may be helpful to read a previous article entitled The Story of San Jose, before proceeding.

The following is an excerpt from the unreleased 120 page Harvey Hines report, regarding his investigation into the missing Donna Lass: "After studying the card, I drove to Nordin, located on old Highway 40, north of Lake Tahoe, and found the SIERRA CLUB. I learned the club was not called the Sierra Club. It was named the Claire Tappaan Lodge and it was a private club for Sierra Club members only. I believed if I followed the directions on the postcard I would find Donna Lass' grave. I believe she was buried near the Sierra Club and most likely on the Donner Ski Ranch".

​I believe Harvey Hines had the right idea, because Donner Ski Ranch is directly in line on the east-west axis with Clair Tappaan Lodge, exactly as "Sierra Club" is with the punch-hole on the 'Pines' card. But I have reached the conclusion that the destination isn't the Donner Ski Ranch, rather the Donner Memorial State Park. The reason lies in the wording "Donner Memorial", a bleak reference to her claimed burial site. If we "pass the Lake Tahoe areas" traveling west, we do reach the "Sierra Club" of Clair Tappaan Lodge depicted on the postcard. If we now position the 'Pines' card into place over a map, it can be seen that "Sierra Club" sits over Clair Tappaan Lodge (which can be seen from the road if we "peek through the pines"), and the punch-hole sits directly over the Donner Memorial State Park.

I have now designed the 'Monticello' card to what I believe it probably looks like. Using exactly the same process as the 'Pines' card, we now have to follow its directions. In this instance, we know the murder victim referenced in the postcard was Kathy Bilek, murdered in April, in the woods, near Monticello (because the neighborhood of Monticello is 9 miles east of the Villa Montalvo woods). So (if it exists) what would the punch-hole in the top right corner of the Monticello card be directing us to this time? It is another clue to the identity of the murdered victim in the 'Monticello' card - by association with a previously claimed Zodiac victim.

​If the 'Monticello' card is to stay true to the 'Pines' card, the punch-hole must fall over another "memorial" with a potential name. The Pines card sat over a "Donner Memorial", so the 'Monticello' card must sit over a "Kathy Memorial". Using the same technique as above we will place the location of "near Monticello" over Villa Montalvo woods (because it's situated near Monticello). The punch-hole in my design would now sit over the Oak Hill Memorial Park & Cemetery by the Monticello neighborhood, whereKathy Snoozy is buried.The Zodiac Killer claimed the murders of Kathy Snoozy and Deborah Furlong in the November 8th 1969 'Dripping Pen' card as "Aug".This was the final clue in the 'Monticello' card, giving us the forename of Kathy Bilek by association with Kathy Snoozy, allied with the word "memorial" once again.

In a case where every crime and confirmed correspondence has been covered extensively, it is always refreshing to examine some of the dubious outlier communications - ones that are often regarded as more questionable Zodiac material. This brings me to the threatening letter received on June 29th 1972 by Ed Salmina, a sports editor of the Novato Advance newspaper for 33 years. Ed Salmina was a staunch baseball fan, who funded and managed the Novato Knicks team, while also having served as a sports correspondent for The Examiner newspaper.

On June 30th 1972 the San Rafael Daily Independent stated that "Edward J. Salmina, sports editor of the Novato Advance, reported to Novato police yesterday he had received a death threat yesterday in a letter signed "Zodiac". The hand-printed letter said:"If you leave your house past 3:13:47 on the next ten Saturdays, you will be killed". In the lower left corner under the heading "message" were a series of symbols. Salmina of 25 Crescent Lane told police he didn't know who or why anyone would send him such a letter. Police said a copy will be sent to the homicide division of the San Francisco Police Department to determine if the note was printed by the Zodiac Killer".

Below I have placed the time 3:13:47 onto a clock face and marked the 10 Saturdays the author of the letter demanded that Ed Salmina remain in his house. His first Saturday of freedom, had he complied, would have been September 9th 1972. I have performed a cursory search regarding the numbers stipulated on the letter, but other than sections of Bible verse and Crown Prince Waterford (using 03:13:47) little else seems of note. Bearing in mind some code was inserted at the bottom of the message, only 63 (3+13+47 = number of characters in the 340 cipher) sprang to mind. Whoever wrote this message seemed rather specific with the time, giving the impression that it held some significance to the author of the correspondence, so hopefully a more logical suggestion can be discovered.

The 10 Saturdays the letter demanded Ed Salmina remain at his residence

It is without doubt that many Zodiac letters were hoaxed, particularly during the height of the murderer's activities from December 20th 1968 to July 13th 1971. One would expect the number of fraudulent Zodiac correspondences to have dwindled after his campaign of terror reached its conclusion sometime in 1971, which only goes to make these outlier letters all the more curious. It is likely that many will be unconvinced by this letter, but it doesn't do any harm in analyzing them, just in case something is unearthed by a reader of this article.

Kenneth Narlow

Linked by U.S. Route 101, north of San Francisco, the residence of Ed Salmina at 25 Crescent Lane, Novato is only 20 miles (25 minutes driving time) from the scene of the attack on Isobel Watson along Pine Hill Road in Mill Valley. Approximately 3 months prior to the Novato threat letter being mailed, Isobel Watson (33) had just got off the bus on the evening of April 7th 1972, and was walking home along Pine Hill Road, Tamalpais Valley, Marin County at 9:00 pm, when a light-colored vehicle veered towards her, knocking her to the ground. The driver exited his vehicle offering to take her home, but after she had refused his offer of apparent help a second time, the concerned citizen suddenly became enraged, pulling out a knife and stabbing the woman in the neck and shoulder. ​Her screams alerted the neighborhood, forcing the assailant into a hasty retreat from the scene. She was treated at Marin General Hospital and fortunately survived the brutal attack.

​Her description of the man alerted investigators to a possible Zodiac connection, that of a man with heavy-rimmed black glasses, in his early 40s, 5' 9" in height and short brown hair. It was not overlooked by police that the killer had attempted to lure the woman into his vehicle, not dissimilar to the method employed in the Modesto abduction of Kathleen Johns. Napa County homicide detective Kenneth Narlow believed in a greater than 50-50 chance of a Zodiac connection, bearing in mind the description given by Isobel Watson

Click image to enter Google maps

The author of the Novato threat letter may have been primarily targeting Saturdays to keep Ed Salmina away from coaching the Novato Knicks baseball team, that one would have thought played over the weekend, but there could be any number of reasons. The only other purported Zodiac communication that was connected to baseball, was mailed to Gerald Tagert of 1423 Roleen Drive, Vallejo on June 18th 1970, just over two years prior to this correspondence. On that occasion the letter stated "gift from Zodiac" and contained two tickets for the June 20th 1970 Oakland A's game at the Coliseum. One letter attempting to encourage the recipient to visit a baseball game, while the other seemingly attempting to separate Ed Salmina from his love of baseball. But were either of these two letters from the hand of the Zodiac Killer?

Many questions have been asked about the Presidio Heights sketch of the Zodiac Killer, in particular, why was the drawing amended in the wanted poster from October 13th 1969 to October 18th 1969 - and did Officer Donald Fouke have any involvement in the amended sketch? If he didn't, many people have asked, why then did the three teenagers change their description so radically from a 25-30 year old male in the first sketch, to a man described as 35-45 years of age in the second sketch? The short answer, is that they didn't. They had always described an older male in the descriptions they furnished. The assumption that the second sketch was a result of the teenagers unsure of their initial description, are unfounded. The description of a 25-30 year old male exiting the taxicab and walking up Cherry Street was never uttered from the lips of the three teenagers, and the proof lies in the Armond Pelissetti two page police report.

The police report was dated 10/12/69 12:30 am on page one, and countersigned by Armond Pelissetti on page two, with a time and date stamp of Oct 12 6:29 am '69. In effect, the report was completed and ratified by the following morning. Obviously, this is before the first wanted poster was released on October 13th 1969. This report at no point mentions Officer Donald Fouke - and his signature is nowhere to be found on the report. That is because he never contributed to it whatsoever. How can we be sure?

The police report clearly states on page 2 that the "suspectwaslast seen walking north on Cherry Street, from Washington Street". There is no mention of the Zodiac Killer's movements after this sighting. In other words, by 6:29 am on October 12th 1969, the sighting of a man by Officer Donald Fouke walking along Jackson Street was immaterial to this report. Otherwise, the report would have stated "suspectwaslast seen walking east on Jackson Street" - which it didn't. Here is the full statement on page 2:: "#2 SUSPECT: WMA, in his early forties, 5'8", heavy build, reddish-blond, crew cut hair. wearing eyeglasses, dark brown trousers, dark (navy blue or black) "Parka" jacket, dark shoes. Suspect should have many blood stains on his person and clothing, suspect may also be in possession of the keys to the Yellow Cab, possibly has wallet belonging to the victim. Last seen walking north on Cherry Street, from Washington Street". The only eyewitnesses that could possibly have viewed the suspect to our knowledge, before he exited Cherry Street were the three teenagers. Officer Donald Fouke hadn't even entered the picture yet.

​The above description of a white male in his early forties was given by the three teenagers before 6:29 am on the 12th October 1969, dispelling the notion they initially described him as aged between 25 and 30 years. Their description of a man in his early forties actually tallies with Officer Donald Fouke's memorandum submitted one month later, on November 12th 1969. In the memorandum he describes the suspect as a "WMA, 35-45 yrs, about 5'10", 180-200 lbs, medium heavy build, barrel chested, medium complexion, light colored hair possibly graying in rear, crew cut, wearing glasses. Dressed in dark blue waist length zipper type jacket (Navy or royal blue). Elastic cuffs and waist band zipped part way up. Brown wool pants pleated type baggy in rear (Rust brown)". The two descriptions near corroborate one another, totally debunking the conspiracy theories that depend on these two sightings being two different people.​

So why does the sketch, compiled from the recollections of the three teenagers say the suspect was 25-30 years? One could ask why does the description now say reddish-brown hair, when the police report states reddish-blond? Why does the wanted poster say the suspect sat in the front seat and directed Paul Stine to Washington and Laurel, when the trip sheet supposedly gave a destination of Washington and Maple? Why does the wanted poster invent the notion of a passenger who pulls a gun out and orders Paul Stine several blocks further? If we accept the credibility of 25-30 years, then why don't we accept the rest of this garbage on the wanted poster? The three teenagers certainly helped in the creation of the suspect composite, but that doesn't mean they played any part in the fantasy accompanying it - and that includes the age range. They had clearly contributed to the police report a day earlier, describing the suspect as somebody in his early forties, which not only is corroborated by Officer Donald Fouke, but a third party sighting by Spruce Street, near the Julius Khan playground. This was detailed in the Sunday San Francisco Chronicle below. This sighting described the suspect as "about 40".

In summary, we have three independent sightings describing the features of the suspect as somebody in his "early forties, with a reddish-blond crewcut", followed by "35-45 years, with light colored hair in a crewcut" and finally "about 40, with a blond crewcut". There is a distinct possibility that the Zodiac Killer had light hair and was aged around 40.

The teenagers certainly helped compile the sketch, but because of its rather youthful appearance appearing to contradict their police report of a suspect in his early forties, law enforcement likely used some artistic license to reduce the age of the suspect in the wanted poster, more in line with the sketch created. It is also important to consider that Michael Mageau estimated his attacker as 26-30 years on page 10 of the Blue Rock Springs police report, Michael stated "Subject was not blubbery fat, but real beefy, possibly 195-200, or maybe even larger. Stated he had short curly hair, light brown, almost blond. States he just saw subject's face from the profile, side view, and does not recall seeing a front view. Michael reemphasized that he really did not get a good look at subject other than his profile. Stated subject was a white male, approximately 26-30 years".Bryan Hartnell's recollections were stated on page 23 of the Lake Berryessa police report "Victim thought suspect was possibly 20 to 30 years of age by voice concept". It is not unrealistic to conclude, that based on previous estimations of the suspect's age and the youthful depiction generated by the sketch artist from the recollections of the teenagers, law enforcement took it upon themselves to guesstimate the age range of 25-30 years for the purpose of the first wanted poster. It is apparent that the teenagers were dissatisfied with the quality of the initial sketch and the age range attributed to it, so a second sketch qualifying their statements in the police report was generated.

Officer Donald Fouke

Officer Donald Fouke had no input into either of the two wanted posters, which is absolutely astonishing, if you believe his superiors were aware that he had crossed paths with a man on Jackson Street, who he described almost identically to the suspect described in the police report. The fact that his description in the memorandum was extremely detailed, yet he wasn't asked to independently sit down with a sketch artist sometime between October 11th 1969 and November 12th 1969, beggars belief. How do we know he had no input?

In the 2007 Zodiac documentary he stated "One month later, when the composite drawing came out at Richmond Station and was posted on the wall, he looked similar to the man I had seen on October 11th. I then wrote a scratch, interdepartmental memorandum, to my lieutenant to forward to homicide division, so that they would have the additional information about the appearance of the suspect. I never spoke to Toschi that I personally know of or remember. He may have been the inspector that came out and asked me about the composite drawing and I told them the suspect was older and heavier". Not the words of a man who played any part in the composite drawings released on October 13th and October 18th of 1969. For the life of me, I cannot understand why.

On December 16th 1969, the Zodiac Killer mailed a letter to the San Francisco Examiner from Fairfield, threatening "government life". Within the communication he compiled a list of potential "cop" targets (38 in total), claiming he would kill more people if his letter was not printed in the newspaper. In previous articles I have used geographic profiling to pinpoint where the Zodiac Killer most probably lived, based upon the crimes and telephone calls that he made. I wondered if the same could be achieved regarding something he hadn't done, but wanted to do. One would like to believe that the Zodiac Killer, in respect to his home residence, would choose murder sites based upon their accessibility to him. In other words, he would threaten to kill less, the further he traveled away from his home residence.

The Fairfield letter has a threatened kill count of 9 in Sacramento, 8 in Oakland, 8 in Napa, 6 in Vallejo, 3 in Fairfield, 3 in San Francisco and 1 in San Jose. This would suggest that San Jose would be his furthest commute to kill, with his residence at a reasonable traveling distance to Sacramento, Oakland, Napa and to a slightly lesser extent Vallejo. The letter itself was postmarked Fairfield, which is telling, because Sacramento to the northeast of Fairfield is 37 miles, while Oakland to the south is 34 miles. Fairfield to Napa is 14 miles, and to Vallejo is 15 miles. Therefore, Fairfield is fairly equidistant to the areas targeted in the letter the most (Sacramento, Oakland, Napa and Vallejo). The two furthest from Fairfield are targeted the least in terms of a proposed kill count (central San Francisco and San Jose, 39 and 63 miles respectively). Does this tell us anything about the Zodiac Killer's residence based upon the distance decay model of geographic profiling. Distance decay is a geographical term which describes the effect of distance on cultural or spatial interactions. The distance decay effect states that the interaction between two locales declines as the distance between them increases. Once the distance is outside of the two locales' activity space, their interactions begin to decrease. The Zodiac Killer would therefore attack less frequently the further he moved away from his residence and comfort zone. However, this is not what interested me regarding the Fairfield letter.

If we take a look at Sacramento, Fairfield, Vallejo, Oakland and San Francisco - one thing stands out regarding these locales. These areas account for 29 of the 38 potential victims targeted in the Fairfield letter - and all are passed by Interstate 80."I-80 begins at an interchange with U.S. Route 101 (US 101) in San Francisco, and then crosses the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge into Oakland. It then heads northeast through Vallejo, Sacramento, and the Sierra Nevada mountains before crossing into Nevada" Wikipedia.. Was this commuter route integral to the movements of the Zodiac Killer, such as a profession or pastime? His early correspondence was mailed to San Francisco and Vallejo, with Fairfield accounting for two postmarks on December 7th 1969 and December 16th 1969. If we include the December 10th 1969 and December 11th 1969 paste-up letters, dubbed the "Cancer" and "Leo" communications, then these were mailed from Sacramento to Sacramento, and Fairfield to San Francisco respectively. These communications were spanning Sacramento to San Francisco, taking in Fairfield, Vallejo and Oakland along the way - the primary hit zones identified in the December 16th Fairfield letter. The only exception being Napa, positioned only 7 miles off route to Interstate 80 at its nearest point. We will call this geographic profiling of the future.

Bringing together several articles to paint the entire picture, I would like to tell you a little story about San Jose and the major impact it had on the actions of the Zodiac Killer spanning just over two years. The attack on Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard at Lake Berryessa on September 27th 1969, inextricably linked to Debra Gaye Furlong (14) and Kathy Ann Snoozy (15), two young girls who were found murdered on August 3rd 1969 in the Bay Area of San Jose. The man ultimately convicted for these two murders in 1971, Karl Francis Werner, was the trigger behind the attack at Lake Berryessa.

The Zodiac Killer had successfully murdered three and seriously injured one person by the time he mailed his trinity of July 31st 1969 letters to the San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Examiner and Vallejo Times-Herald. He then presented codebreakers with the extremely unusual challenge of deciphering three parts of one cipher from the hand of a serial killer, demanding that he receive front page coverage for his efforts. The three communications and three murders, in his mind, warranted the full attention of the American public when he wrote "Here is part of a cipher the other 2 parts of this cipher are being mailed to the editors of the Vallejo Times and SF Examiner. I want you to print this cipher on the front page of your paper. In this cipher is my idenity. If you do not print this cipher by the afternoon of Fry.1st of Aug 69, I will go on a kill ram-Page Fry. night. I will cruse around all weekend killing lone people in the night then move on to kill again, until I end up with a dozen people over the weekend".

The two major news publications, the San Francisco Chronicle and Examiner, dismissed his demands by only publishing his offerings on page four and nine respectively. The Zodiac Killer's disdain was immediate, when on August 4th 1969 he presented us with his sinister pseudonym "This is the Zodiac Speaking" in a follow-up letter, that concluded with "I was not happy to see that I did not get front page coverage". But imagine his horror, when two days later the San Francisco Chronicle (August 6th 1969) ran a comprehensive front page article about the murders of Debra Gaye Furlong and Kathy Ann Snoozy in San Jose. Here is an excerpt:

The two young girls, found dead Sunday on a sun-parched San Jose hillside, appear to have been victims of a sexual psychopath, whose blood frenzy led him to "overkill". Dr. John E. Hauser, Santa Clara county's chief medical examiner and coroner, said yesterday that the girls, Deborah Gay Furlong, 14, and Kathy Snoozy, 15, died in a "frenzied flurry of knife-wounds" inflicted so swiftly that neither gave any evidence of having struggled against the attack. Dr. Hauser, so shaken by the brutality of the crime he could scarcely find words, said the Snoozy youngster had 150 wounds on her back, 50 on the front and a "storm" of punctures on her neck. Deborah's body had about 100 wounds on her back and upper front and a dozen on her neck. Dr. Hauser said he was "puzzled" by many aspects of the brutal slaying. He said neither girl had been sexually molested; neither had suffered any wounds below her waist, neither gave evidence of having struggled to escape. Only the Snoozy girl, he said, had one small mark on her hand, suggesting she may have tried vainly to deflect the plunging knife. The coroner said both girls must have died very quickly and he is investigating the possibility they may have been drugged before the stabbing began. Blood and skin samples as well as stomach contents have been sent for further examination to area laboratories, he said. The results should be known in a few days. It is Dr. Hauser's opinion that the multiple puncture wounds were inflicted by one or two small knives, the largest wound the size of a pocket knife with a half-inch blade. "I've never seen a case with this many stab wounds," Dr. Hauser said. "You know, I've been in this profession a long time and sometimes I think I'm rather callous, but when I saw these girls, believe me it was terrifying. "The Nazi sex mutilations during World War II were nothing compared to what was done to these young girls.

The Zodiac Killer must have been incensed that despite his brutal murder of three people during the holiday season, followed by his cryptic correspondences, he failed to achieve front page coverage from the Chronicle or the Examiner, despite threatening another dozen victims over the weekend. The only difference, he must have surmised, was the method of attack and the horror that such an intimate attack with a bladed instrument on two young girls had engendered in the psyche of the newspapers and public at large. The Zodiac Killer knew at this moment he had to ratchet up his attacks and get up close and personal with the use of a knife. But this wouldn't be any ordinary attack - he would dress up in an executioner's costume and hunt for young girls armed with a 12-inch knife - not "a pocket knife with a half-inch blade". Although Karl Francis Werner's capture was two years in the making, he was the absent agent behind the attack on Bryan Hartnell and murder of Cecelia Shepard just seven weeks later. Without the murders of Debra Gaye Furlong and Kathy Ann Snoozy on August 3rd 1969, it can be argued the attack at Lake Berryessa would never have taken place.

No surprise then, that the Zodiac Killer wanted to outdo the August 3rd 1969 murders, by setting his sights on three young girls from Pacific Union College as they sunbathed on the shores of Lake Berryessa on September 27th 1969. Three murders with a 12-inch bladed knife would definitely have done the trick. But something clearly thwarted this attack and two hours later he focused in on Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard, determined not to be denied and secure his front page coverage. After the sixteen strikes into the young couple, he retreated and traveled back up the hill to lay claim to this attack as the Zodiac Killer. After writing the dates of his previous two attacks and this one on the car door of Bryan Hartnell, he emphasized the words "by knife" at the foot of the message. The Zodiac Killer was effectively saying "do I get front page coverage now". The brutal knife attack, he hoped, would get the recognition akin to the murders of Kathy Snoozy and Deborah Furlong. Not only did he get the recognition, but it had an added benefit of the newspapers considering the possibility of his involvement in the Kathy Snoozy and Deborah Furlong murders. This certainly didn't escape his attention.

Six weeks later he duly obliged by slipping in "Aug" into his confirmed murder count when mailing the 'Dripping Pen card on November 8th 1969, bumping up his total to seven victims. The Lake Berryessa attack "by knife" had effectively secured him two more victims by association. But to cement his perceived involvement in the San Jose murders, he had to strike while the iron was hot.

On November 21st 1969 he mailed a threatening letter to the San Jose Police Department beginning with the words "There's no doubt I will do my Thing!". The letter initiated this response: 'For the information of the Bureau and Sacramento, after a cursory analysis, officers of the San Jose, California PD, believe widow in message may be Mrs (redacted), San Jose, California. San Jose PD instituting 24 hour surveillance on Mrs (redacted).' It is clear that this woman had some connection to the Snoozy and Furlong murders, and by the Zodiac Killer interjecting himself into the San Jose investigation, he was attempting to solidify the notion of his involvement in them. Bearing in mind this letter was mailed to the San Jose Police Department and their response to secure the woman's safety, it isn't too surprising that the Zodiac Killer would threaten to murder a San Jose policeman in the Fairfield letter mailed a month later, on December 16th 1969. The Zodiac Killer thought he had now successfully cemented his claim to the Snoozy and Furlong murders. His choice of switching from gun to knife had paid dividends. My guess, is he was banking on these murders never being solved.

Imagine the Zodiac Killer's dismay in late April of 1971, when his plans lay in tatters, upon the arrest of Karl Francis Werner for the April 11th 1971 murder of Kathy Bilek at Villa Montalvo in Saratoga, as well as the murders of Kathy Snoozy and Deborah Furlong in San Jose two years earlier, on August 3rd 1969. The Zodiac Killer would eventually be exposed as a fraud - caught in the act of claiming somebody else's victims at last. He reacted forthwith, by mailing two communications to the San Francisco Chronicle in the middle of 1971.

In the first, he was trying vainly to convince us that he was in fact the murderer of all three girls (Snoozy, Furlong and Bilek) by claiming that Karl Francis Werner was the fraud or phony. Paul Avery, arch nemesis of Zodiac, wrote an article on April 30th 1971 detailing the capture of Werner. The newspaper article stated "He (Werner) was immediately advised of his rights concerning any statements he may make and legal representation to which he is entitled, the detectives said. Werner was then taken to the scenes of the crimes. Late yesterday he was undergoing questioning. The detectives would not reveal what statements, if any, he had made concerning the killings of the three girls".

The Zodiac Killer responded sometime after he read this article (around May, June or July of 1971), mailing a 148 character cipher stating "Tis the Zodiac Speacking. Why can't you stop me. I can't stop killing. Stop listening t(o) phonys. If this is not on your front page in a week I will skin 3 little kids and make a suit from the skin". In this correspondence he claimed his victim count was 21, by writing "I done it 21 times".This, in accordance with his claimed victim count of 17+ in the March 13th 1971 'Los Angeles' letter. We can ascertain that this communication was mailed around the middle of 1971, because he fired off a second correspondence at about the same time. The correspondence about to be discussed was withheld from newspaper publication (as was the 148 character cipher), so the fact that both contained a victim count of 21 and mailed in close proximity to one another, should be enough to consider both being mailed by the Zodiac Killer. The second communication we will show, is not only trying to claim the murder of Kathy Bilek - again attempting to show that Karl Francis Werner was a phony - but is also linking itself to the murders of Snoozy and Furlong.

On July 13th 1971 a pasted card was mailed to the San Francisco Chronicle with the words "Near Monticello Shought Victims 21 ...... In The Woods Dies April". Many have speculated on the location mentioned in the card as "Monticello" in Napa County, California, because of the Lake Berryessa attack on Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard on September 27th 1969. It has been further speculated on whether "April" was a woman's name or the month of the alleged murder. After a comprehensive review of all the information, I believe the woman's identity, labelled as victim number 21, can finally be revealed, along with the exact location of Monticello.

On Sunday, April 11th 1971, Kathy Bilek (18) visited Villa Montalvo in Saratoga, having planned to read a paperback book (The Gabriel Hounds) and engage in a spot of bird watching​ in the seclusion of a remote, wooded portion of the park, near a small stream. Her body was found the next day by her father, Charles, while Santa Clara County Sheriff's deputies searched nearby. She had been stabbed 17 times in the back and 32 times in her chest and stomach, although her killer had taken care to avoid stabbing her breasts. Her murder was also attributed to Karl Francis Werner.Wikipedia. The brutal murder of Kathy Bilek would again be claimed by 'Zodiac', not only in the Monticello card, but in another alleged Zodiac letter, also mailed to the San Francisco Chronicle at about the same time as the Monticello card. Kathy Bilek was murdered in "April", exactly as mentioned in the Monticello card, and "in the woods" at Villa Montalvo (a wooded section of the park). Saratoga is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States. It is located on the west side of the Santa Clara Valley, directly west of San Jose, The appearance of San Jose once again. ​ ​

It was easy to get sidelined into believing Monticello was referring to Napa County, because the town was completely covered by Lake Berryessa, the site of Zodiac's third attack. However, the "Monticello" the author is referring to in the pasted card, is again in San Jose. Monticello is a neighborhood in San Jose, California, just over 9 miles east of Villa Montalvo, the site of Kathy Bilek's murder. ​In other words, the author of the card was saying "I killed Kathy Bilek near Monticello, in the Villa Montalvo woods in April". ​To view the proximity of Monticello to Villa Montalvo click here.

The Monticello card stated "Shought victims 21", referring to the Kathy Bilek murder, whereas, in the 148 character cipher, the author was claiming he had already "done it 21 times." The Monticello card was never released to the newspapers or public, so bearing in mind these two communications were both likely mailed at approximately the same time, there is a high probability they were mailed by the Zodiac Killer.

The ​November 8th 1969 'Dripping Pen' card would not be the only communication insinuating his involvement in the murder of Deborah Gaye Furlong and Kathy Ann Snoozy, when the Monticello card arrived just over 20 months later, on July 13th 1971. The San Francisco Police Department had reason enough to place the Monticello card in 'suspected Zodiac correspondence' when searching for traces of DNA on potential Zodiac communications, indicating the high regard it was held in.

It is with little doubt that Karl Francis Werner was responsible for the murder of Deborah Furlong, Kathy Snoozy and Kathy Bilek in 1969 and 1971, but the overarching question is, why did the Zodiac Killer describe the location of Kathy Bilek's body as "near Monticello"? The neighborhood of Monticello is 9 miles east of Villa Montalvo. Why did the Zodiac Killer choose to pinpoint this particular location, rather than any other neighborhood in between Monticello and Villa Montalvo? He could have pasted "near Willow Glen", "near Oster", "near Carlton", or any other location closer than Monticello. It is arguable that he chose this particular location for a specific reason. ​

My first thought, was the Zodiac Killer was simply not going to make things easy, and had used Monticello to confuse people in the search for meaning behind the card. Having attacked Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard at Lake Berryessa (submerging the town of Monticello) on September 27th 1969, the possibility existed that the Zodiac Killer was attempting to divert the reader down this train of thought. However, something far more compelling came to light regarding the neighborhood of Monticello, not only that it was near the murder site of Kathy Bilek, but that it once again suggested his involvement in the murder of the two young girls on August 3rd 1969 in the Bay Area of San Jose.

The neighborhood of Monticello sits right next to the Oak Hill Funeral Home and Memorial Park, shown here. Here is an extract from the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper on August 6th 1969: "The other Furlong children are Glen, 16; Floyd, 12, and Pamela, 11. Furlong said he did not know and had not yet talked to Kathy's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Wilfred Snoozy. Both Snoozy, a carpet layer, and Mrs. Snoozy reportedly are in a state of collapse. Her funeral has been scheduled Friday at 11 a.m. at the Place Funeral Home in Los Gatos. Burial will be at Oak Wood Cemetery in Santa Cruz. Funeral services for Kathy will be held tomorrow (Thursday) at 2 p.m. at the Oak Hill Memorial Park Mortuary in San Jose. Burial will be at Oak Hill Memorial Park."

The funeral services and burial of Kathy Snoozy were held at Oak Hill Memorial Park at 300 Curtner Avenue, right next to the neighborhood of Monticello. This, in all probability, is why the Zodiac Killer chose "near Monticello" rather than any other location closer to Villa Montalvo. He was not only pinpointing this location to suggest he had a hand in the murder of the San Jose teenagers, but specifically chose the area by the gravesite of Kathy Snoozy because her forename was identical to that of Kathy Bilek. Not only was Kathy Bilek murdered in April, in the woods, near Monticello - but her name could be inferred in the Monticello card from the Oak Hill Memorial Park burial site of her namesake. The Pines card and '13 Hole' postcard were published in the newspapers, yet this card has always been withheld. What are the chances that the picture on the Monticello card contains sensitive material, deemed inappropriate for release by law enforcement, and may have something to do with Oak Hill Memorial Park.

The Pines card and Monticello card both contained similar wording, such as "pass lake Tahoe areas" and "near Monticello", as well as "around in the snow" and "in the woods". Harvey Hines, a retired detective from Groveland, believed that Donna Lass was likely buried on the Donner Ski Ranch. This area is extremely close to Donner Memorial State Park, as is Monticello to Oak Hill Memorial Park. Another uncanny connection in the murder of two innocent lives.

Bearing in mind Kathy Snoozy, Deborah Furlong and Kathy Bilek were all stabbed innumerable times, disfiguring their bodies, it is rather telling that the author of the 148 character cipher and letter should threaten 3 more young people like so: "Tis the Zodiac Speacking. Why can't you stop me. I can't stop killing. Stop listening t(o) phonys. If this is not on your front page in a week I will skin 3 little kids and make a suit from the skin" and "next time I will send a patch of human skin if there is some left over".

This shows how San Jose was integral to the Zodiac Killer throughout his campaign of terror, beginning on August 3rd 1969 and possibly ending on July 13th 1971, with the mailing of the Monticello card. I say possibly, because another communication dubbed the DMV letter may have been the final correspondence of 1971, again inferring his involvement in the Snoozy, Furlong and Bilek slayings.

Tom Voigt, creator of the hugely successful Zodiackiller.com website has sought a potential Zodiac letter, described as the DMV letter. On his message board he stated "While I don't yet have as many details as I would like, at some point the Zodiac wrote a letter to the chairman of the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) in California. The letter was authenticated, apparently via handwriting, and was kept quiet for reasons unknown". None of the following can be definitively proven, but I will attempt to expand on this elusive correspondence based on the limited information we have, and use the propensity of the Zodiac Killer to respond to newspaper and magazine articles against him. We know he closely followed anything that was written about him and often replied in kind. With that said, it is possible the DMV letter was mailed to the chairman of the Department of Motor Vehicles because he read an article referencing this department. If the letter was addressed to the chairman, it is very likely the letter was addressed to the headquarters of the DMV in Sacramento. What we now have to do, is tie the Sacramento DMV to a Zodiac crime, or a crime claimed by Zodiac, written in a publication that the Zodiac Killer had reason to read - who subsequently got upset because it portrayed him as a liar and a fraud. It therefore follows, that it is highly unlikely to be a polite correspondence from the Bay Area killer. Based on the above, I believe the DMV letter was mailed in the October or November of 1971.

As early as November 8th 1969 the Zodiac Killer was claiming the murders Deborah Gaye Furlong (14) and Kathy Ann Snoozy (15), who were found murdered on August 3rd 1969 in the Bay Area of San Jose. This was his "Aug" on the 'Dripping Pen' card. He would later insinuate his involvement in the murder of Kathy Bilek (18), murdered in the woods of Villa Montalvo in Saratoga, due west of San Jose. On July 13th 1971, a potential Zodiac communication arrived in the form of a pasted card. It read "Near Monticello Shought Victims 21 ...... In The Woods Dies April". The author of the card was detailing the murder of Kathy Bilek in the woods of Villa Montalvo on April 11th 1971, just 9 miles from the neighborhood of Monticello in San Jose. He chose this neighborhood because it sat adjacent to Oak Hill Memorial Park at 300 Curtner Avenue. The cemetery where the body of Kathy Ann Snoozy lay - and chosen to hint at the forename "Kathy", pertaining to Kathy Bilek.

​Assuming these communications were mailed by the Bay Area murderer, it would be fairly obvious that the Zodiac Killer was following the San Jose murders closely from August 3rd 1969, through his 'Dripping Pen' card of November 8th, to the eventual murder of Kathy Bilek, and up to his correspondences in the middle of 1971. Therefore, it would be no great surprise if he continued to monitor any newspaper or magazine articles regarding the murders of the three young females. ​

Officers remove the bodies of Snoozy and Furlong

In October 1971, a magazine publication entitled 'True Detective' comprehensively featured the murders of Kathy Snoozy, Deborah Furlong and Kathy Bilek, and the subsequent arrest of Karl Francis Werner. There is every chance the Zodiac Killer read this magazine article, compelling him to continue his contact with authorities regarding these murders.

One particular section about Kathy Bilek caught my eye - that may have been the reason why the Zodiac Killer wrote a letter to the chairman of the DMV in Sacramento. It stated "At about the same moment, Park Ranger Ken Williamson was informing a member of the investigative team that he, too, had noticed a tall, bespectacled young man who had been a frequent visitor at Villa Montalvo. He was a loner and had impressed the Villa's ranger staff with his almost furtive conduct, said Williamson. The ranger had jotted down the license number of the strange youth's auto.The license number was forwarded to the California Department of Motor Vehicles headquarters in Sacramento, the state's capital 150 miles to the north of San Jose. The information teletyped back from the registration bureau was that the auto was the property of a Karl Francis Werner, living at an address on Shawnee Lane in San Jose."

The Zodiac Killer, having previously mailed two communications (Monticello card and 148 character cipher) referencing the murder of Kathy Bilek and the victim total of 21, it wouldn't be at all surprising if he fired off a third communication, this time to the Department of Motor Vehicles in Sacramento, after reading these two paragraphs. As this magazine article was published in October of 1971, the DMV letter may have been postmarked with the latter months of that year - possibly October, November or December. The compunction of the Zodiac Killer in claiming, or interjecting himself into the middle of these murders, may have been the driver behind his contact with the chairman of the DMV. The content of this communication is unknown, but I guess he is continuing the menacing theme of his previous two correspondences, suggesting the identification of the vehicle belonging to Karl Francis Werner is somehow another red herring and threatening more murder and mayhem.

Professor D.C.B. Marsh, in the October 22nd 1969 San Francisco Examiner newspaper article by Will Stevens, laid down a challenge to the Zodiac Killer to reveal his name. The newspaper stated "Dr Marsh told the Examiner today: "The killer wouldn't dare, as he claimed in letters to the newspapers, to reveal his name in the cipher to established cryptogram experts. He knows, to quote Edgar Allen Poe, that any cipher created by man can be solved by man. Zodiac has not told the truth in his cipher messages to the Examiner, the Chronicle and the Vallejo Times-Herald. Zodiac has not done this, because to tell the complete truth in relation to his name - in cipher code - would lead to his capture. I invite Zodiac to send The American Cryptogram Association a cipher code - however complicated - which will truly and honestly include his name". It is highly unlikely the Zodiac Killer would have been suckered into providing a genuine cipher of any length knowing that 'any cipher created by man can be solved by man'. The 13 and 32 symbol ciphers mailed in 1970 proved this very fact - both effectively crackproof without a recognizable key. However, the Zodiac could certainly have sent us a rudimentary message within the 340 cipher utilizing the wording contained within his 408 cipher.

Paradice and slaves is a well-trodden theme in the Zodiac communications, and as I have stated before, the Halloween card mailed on October 27th 1970 (almost the anniversary of the D.C.B. Marsh challenge) actually admitted that the 340 cipher was "sorry no cipher". The Zodiac Killer had never apologized previously for not sending a cipher in his 'cipherless' communications, so why start now. Even if the "sorry no cipher" writing on the envelope inner was to inform us that in about two seconds we had no cipher, then just write "sorry no cipher" once. The fact it was fashioned into a cross formation that mimicked the paradice and slaves configuration on the card inner, seemed designed to suggest that this configuration would be found in a cipher that effectively had no solution. The sheer fact that this configuration can also be found in his 340 cipher, exactly bisecting the cipher vertically and horizontally (17 by 17), one would like to believe is a convincing argument to suggest that the Zodiac Killer was finally admitting the 340 cipher wasn't a cipher at all. Additionally, it did mimic the 408 cipher with its inclusion of the paradice and slaves reference. Although this may be interesting, it understandably isn't enough to convince certain quarters of the Zodiac community who are steadfast in their belief that the 340 cipher contains a cogent but elusive message. Regardless, one couldn't help thinking that this wasn't the only time the Zodiac admitted the 340 cipher was devoid of any meaningful solution. Fortunately, the answer came in the communication prior to the Halloween card.

13 Hole postcard mailed on October 5th 1970

If I am correct, and the paradice and slaves (13 letters) configuration was intentional in the design of the 340 cipher, then this is a significant point of interest. Two other notable features stand out in the 340 cipher. Firstly, the corrected sixth line where the Zodiac Killer blacks out a forward K and replaces it with a backward K. Secondly, the distinct possibility that he placed his pseudonym on the final line of the 340 cipher. All these three features are present in the '13 Hole' postcard.

Despite the fact that Zodiac made many spelling errors in his design of the 408 cipher and his communications as a whole, he seemed conscientious enough to correct one character in his 340 cipher, that inevitably would have made no difference in it being deciphered, had it contained a genuine solution. The fact he spoiled an otherwise neat and tidy presentation appeared designed to convince us that it was a genuine cipher. After all, why would Zodiac correct a collection of gibberish, if not to convince us it wasn't. The correction seemed contrived in order to validate the authenticity of the cipher, to which he would allude to in the '13 Hole' postcard.

Many have speculated on why the Zodiac Killer reversed the bottom section of text on the '13 Hole' postcard. He certainly didn't do this for absolutely no reason, as he didn't create the "sorry no cipher" configuration for no reason either. The Zodiac Killer pasted the lettering "Fk I'm crackproof" on the '13 Hole' postcard in a first attempt at showing us the 340 cipher had no solution. The definition of crack-proof is something that is unable to be cracked, or in the case of a cipher, unable to be decoded. He used this word in his April 20th 1970 letter, sarcastically stating "This is the Zodiac speaking. By the way have you cracked the last cipher I sent you". He knew only too well that it hadn't been cracked, because it couldn't be cracked - and now was telling us it was crackproof by association to himself.

The Fk has been suggested as a shortened expletive or possibly a name - but what if we take it on face value, and the Fk actually means Fk and nothing more. It is like Ronseal and 'does exactly what it says on the tin'. The Zodiac Killer is essentially telling us that the corrected Fk on the 340 cipher was a ruse, because his cipher was crackproof. This is why the text on the '13 Hole' postcard is reversed, exactly the same as the reversed K on the 340 cipher. The K on the 340 cipher is not only reversed, but it is now much smaller than all the other characters on the 340 cipher, which is why the Zodiac Killer pastes "Fk I'm crackproof" rather than "FK I'm crackproof". ​ Crackproof, Fk and the reversal of text on the '13 Hole' postcard, coupled with the cross design of 13 (paradice and slaves), inevitably leads back to the 340 cipher. Either that, or he pasted "Fk I'm crackproof" upside down on the '13 Hole' postcard for no reason whatsoever.

What we effectively have, are two consecutive October 1970 communications stating ​"Fk I'm crackproof" and "sorry no cipher", both furnished with a cross design that mimics the appearance of paradice and slaves on the 340 cipher. It is my contention that the Zodiac Killer responded to the challenge of Professor D.C.B. Marsh, but he simply wasn't going to abide by the rules laid down by the cryptography expert, yet he stayed true to the paradice and slaves message in the 408 cipher, albeit in his own inimitable style. The paradice and slaves design in the 340 cipher (extending 17 rows down) still leaves the tantalizing prospect of three 'vacant' rows comprising of 51 unobstructed characters, that may harbor a second puzzle or message. With the Zodiac pseudonym almost appearing toward the end of the cipher, there may be a twist in the tail yet.

The widely held consensus is that the Zodiac Killer wrote his last communication in 1971 during his first letter writing campaign, before returning to fire off another brief volley of four communications in 1974. For this to be the case, we would have to believe the Zodiac Killer, either willingly or through circumstances beyond his control, chose not to correspond with the newspapers to comment on The Zodiac Killer film directed by Tom Hanson released on April 7th 1971, or the Dirty Harry movie directed by Don Siegel and starring Clint Eastwood, released on December 23rd 1971. Yet, he returned from his hibernation after nearly three years because he was driven or felt compelled to comment on The Exorcist movie, describing it as "the best saterical comidy that I have ever seen". You would have thought he would have got his priorities in order.

The letter was effectively a mishmash of previous Zodiac tropes, but significantly, it mimicked his first ever letters to the San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Examiner and Vallejo Times-Herald on July 31st 1969. These 1969 letters threatened to go on a "kill rampage" over the weekend if his ciphers were not published on the front page of the respective newspapers. The Exorcist letter mailed on January 29th 1974 was identical, threatening that if his note was not published in the paper he would do something nasty which you knew he was capable of doing. The only thing synonymous with the Zodiac Killer that we knew he was capable of doing, was "to kill". This logically should be the conclusion. Therefore, it makes perfect sense, that the strange collection of characters at the foot of the Exorcist letter should be able to be rearranged to the spell the verb "to kill". This is exactly what Kevin Robert Brooks, author of the upcoming book The Montana Connection, discovered several years ago - and it is the logical extension to the passage above it. Whether or not the Exorcist letter was written by the Zodiac Killer is another matter entirely.

The San Francisco Chronicle placed this letter in their newspaper on January 31st 1974 under the title 'Zodiac Mystery Letter-the First Since 1971', but crucially omitted and whitewashed the strange Asian characters from their publication, meaning that any follow-up letters pertaining to this disguised message could be verified as likely originating from the same author. In other words, if a follow-up letter made a point of highlighting the verb "to kill", then they were likely the author of the Exorcist letter also. All the San Francisco Chronicle and law enforcement had to do, was to look at any highlighted word in the subsequent letter/s and ascertain whether this word could be created using the Exorcist symbols or characters. If it could, then it's highly likely the two letters had the same author. This is exactly what happened only five days after the Exorcist letter was mailed, and only three days after the San Francisco Chronicle omitted the Asian characters from their publication.

On February 3rd 1974 (the day before the Patty Hearst kidnapping) somebody mailed the S.L.A. letter to the San Francisco Chronicle from Los Angeles, with the whole communication focused on introducing us to the verb "to kill" in the Old Norse language. Irrespective that "to kill" in Old Norse is actually 'drepa', this is what the author believed at the time of writing. The S.L.A. communication finished off the message by highlighting the word "kill", exactly as the Exorcist letter had done just 5 days earlier. Furthermore, the S.L.A. letter began its introduction with "Dear" and signed off with "a friend". This is important, because 7 days later the real Symbionese Liberation Army mailed a letter to the Hearst family on February 10th 1974, beginning their correspondence with "Dear"and ending the communication with "A friend".Uncanny that.

So, did the Zodiac Killer reappear from his slumber after nearly three years to critique the Exorcist film for our benefit, and tell us that "sla" (Symbionese Liberation Army) was the Old Norse word for "kill" to expand our foreign language skills? - which in all likelihood is the dominant hidden word in the Exorcist letter.​Or, is it more likely the Symbionese Liberation Army wrote the February 3rd 1974 S.L.A. letter, one day before the kidnapping of Patricia Campbell Hearst by the S.L.A, and referenced the Symbionese Liberation Army within their own communication? Then just happened to mail another letter only 7 days later writing "Dear" and "A friend", exactly mimicking their previous one. "Absolute nonsense, it had to be Zodiac. That's what I've believed for more than a decade and I'm sticking with it. Shove your evidence and your article where the sun doesn't shine, you traitorous wretch. How dare you take three years of Zodiac away. Nothing will convince me it wasn't the Zodiac Killer".

There is a significant number of people who believe the Lake Berryessa attack on Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard was not the Zodiac Killer, rather an impostor or fraud masquerading as the Bay Area murderer. Despite the overwhelming evidence this attack was by the hand of the Zodiac Killer, the ever grandiose theories of a copycat or 'newspaper driven' conspiracy keep filling the message boards. If you believe the Lake Berryessa murderer was an impostor, then it is reasonable to assume that you also believe the October 27th 1970 'Halloween' card was the same impostor. The murderer of Cecelia Shepard wrote on the car door of Bryan Hartnell's vehicle, finishing his message with the immortal words "by knife". This phrase was withheld from the newspapers and wasn't known by the time the 'Halloween' card was mailed. Since the author of the 'Halloween' card wrote the phrase "by knife" within his communication and selected imagery of a an eye peering from behind a tree with the additional phrase "peek-a-boo you are doomed", it seems rather logical that the author is referring to Lake Berryessa and his escapade of vanishing behind a tree, before reemerging in his masked costume. Unless of course, he just guessed the phrase "by knife" withheld from the newspapers, by simultaneously discovering a Tim Holt comic book with the exact phrase around a death wheel. This impostor is rather a lucky chap.

​This impostor would then discover the workings of the unbroken 340 cipher, writing "sorry no cipher" on the envelope inner of the 'Halloween' card, despite the fact (to our knowledge) that nobody at this juncture had noticed that the paradice and slaves configuration on the card was also present on the 340 cipher, bisecting it at its center both horizontally and vertically. Not only had this impostor accidentally stumbled across the withheld "by knife" in the Tim Holt comic book, but he had also told us the puzzle contained in the 340 cipher. By writing "sorry no cipher" in the same style as paradice and slaves, he was effectively linking the two and stating that the unbroken 340 character cipher contained the configuration paradice and slaves within its design. It was therefore no cipher.

This links the apparent impostor to the Lake Berryessa attack, the 'Halloween' card and the 340 cipher. It is rather amazing that the impostor not only found the hidden "by knife" on the car door by inadvertently thumbing through his comic book collection just prior to the 'Halloween' card, but he found it around a death wheel that he could conveniently transfer and place it around the paradice and slaves configuration on the card. Even more fortunate, was the real Zodiac Killer had apparently allowed the option of paradice and slaves within the design of the 340 cipher, placing the word "by" accidentally in all four quadrants to equally mimic the 'Halloween' card. It is rather more logical to conclude that the designer of the 'Halloween' card also designed the 340 cipher - and because of "by knife", was the perpetrator of the September 27th 1969 Lake Berryessa attack. If you believe the Lake Berryessa attack was an impostor and not Zodiac, then by extension you have to believe the designer of the 340 cipher was the same impostor.

​If the impostor created the 340 cipher, then he mailed the 'Bus Bomb' letter also. The 'Bus Bomb' communication was mailed in tandem with the 340 cipher and contained the same victim count of 7 in the passage "This is the Zodiac speaking up to the end of Oct I have killed 7 people". It alsocontained "Oct" in the same fashion as the writing on the 'Dripping Pen' card. Most people are in agreement that the 340 cipher/'Dripping Pen' card and 'Bus Bomb' letter were mailed by the same author. But if an impostor created the 340 cipher, he also sent the 'Bus Bomb' letter containing a piece of Paul Stine's blooded shirt from the October 11th 1969 taxicab murder. By extension therefore, the impostor must be responsible for the murder of Paul Stine and the October 13th 1969 letter. Furthermore, he must be responsible for the December 20th 1969 'Melvin Belli' letter, which also contained a swatch of Paul Stine's shirt. The bottom line being that, if you believe the Lake Berryessa attack to be an impostor, then you have to believe the Paul Stine murder wasn't Zodiac either, along with five other communications that include the October 13th 1969 mailing, the 340 cipher and 'Bus Bomb' letters, the 'Melvin Belli' letter and finally the 'Halloween' card. You cannot have one without the others. The logical conclusion is that the entirety were mailed by the Zodiac Killer, who was responsible for four attacks in the Bay Area. But no doubt, this will be far too boring a conclusion, in a case where facts seem to no longer matter anymore.

For more on the 'Illusion of the 340 Cipher' click the hidden link in the article

In a previous article we explored the concept of geographic profiling with respect to the Zodiac Killer, using search cost percentages to highlight the possible home location of the Bay Area murderer. Therefore, I thought it appropriate to look at the geographic profiling prediction applied to an already convicted serial killer, that of Dennis Rader (BTK). Some people have actually touted Dennis Rader as the infamous Zodiac Killer because of their propensity for writing poems, making phone calls and mailing letters to the newspapers and radio stations. So this geographic profile is more pertinent to the advocates of Dennis Rader as the cryptic killer.

Dennis Rader was responsible for 10 murders and 7 attacks from 1974 to 1991, that included in chronological order the Otero family, Kathryn Bright, Shirley Vian, Nancy Fox, Marine Hedge, Vicki Wegerle and Dolores E. Davis. He was eventually arrested near his home in Park City, Wichita on February 25th 2005. Below I have placed his murders on a map of Wichita and highlighted his home residence and the Christ Lutheran Church where he was president of the church council. The distances on the map show that he never ventured more than 9 miles from his home residence, and for the most part (except for two of his last three murders) gave himself a buffer zone of at least 6.27 miles for five of his attacks. The murders of Marine Hedge and Dolores E. Davis much closer to his home residence. The hot zone, represented by a search cost of 0% is shown by the large red dot on the map. This hot zone, predicted as where Dennis Rader most likely lived, was in the College Hill District of Wichita, exactly 7.50 miles from his home residence at 6220 Independence Street, Park City (subsequently bulldozed). His residence had a search cost of about 15% on a scale of 0 to 100%. So this would be described as a fairly warm zone.

Suspects are ranked based on their search cost—the percentage of the map searched before reaching the suspect’s anchor point. The search is conducted from the highest point of probability to the lowest; therefore, the lower the search cost, the more viable the suspect. If the geographic profile is accurate, the offender will have a low search cost. In the case of search cost, “map” refers to only the portion of the profile containing the crime scenes. As a result, suspects can have a search cost greater than 100%, which means a space larger than the area containing the crime scenes would have to be searched before reaching their anchor point. link. Here is a link to the Dennis Rader geoprofile using the Kim Rossmo model. geographicprofile.com.

Click to enter Google maps

It has been stated that a serial killer will often commit his first murders in his comfort zone, implementing a buffer zone between the sites of his attacks and his home residence. In the case of Dennis Rader, his first two attacks were that of the Otero family and Kathryn Bright, 7.43 miles and 6.27 miles from his home residence. All but two of Dennis Rader's murders were perpetrated on a weekday. The Otero family were murdered on a Tuesday and Kathryn Bright was murdered on a Thursday - which is extremely relevant to the Zodiac Killer's first two attacks at Lake Herman Road and Blue Rock Springs Park, both perpetrated on a Friday. If Dennis Rader and the Zodiac Killer had worked that day, you have to consider the time constraints and expect the murders to be closer to their residence compared to a weekend, when they have greater freedom to travel.

So, if the Zodiac lived in one of the hot zones just east of American Canyon, let us compare the distances Zodiac would have traveled to his first two attack sites. As the crow flies, Lake Herman Road is 8.00 miles from American Canyon, wheres Blue Rock Springs Park is 4.77 miles. Compare this to the 7.43 miles and 6.27 miles traveled by Dennis Rader for his first two attacks. In total (both attacks) Dennis Rader traveled 13.70 miles. If the Zodiac Killer lived in American Canyon, he would have traveled a total of 12.77 miles (a difference of just 0.93 miles). The Zodiac Killer and Dennis Rader both sought the attention of the newspapers and media, but can both be compared using the Rigel software system of geographic profiling?

While discussing the September 25th 1990 Celebrity Cypher in an earlier article on this site, Rubislaw32 discovered the identity of the postcard, described by Zodiac researcher Lyndon Lafferty as "Driftwood on Ocean Beach", whereas the face of the card featured a rooted tree on a beach in Carmel, California. Any doubt that this discovery by Rubislaw32 was not of Carmel Beach in California has been seemingly quashed, when the John Hinde alphanumeric publishing code in the top left corner of the address side, was compared to the alphanumeric publishing code on the original Celebrity Cypher mailed to the Vallejo Times-Herald in 1990. This discovery is now available on the Project MK Zodiac website here.

The address side of the original 1990 Celebrity Cypher contained the alphanumeric code 2CG 66-B, as did the Carmel postcard on the left, effectively tying the two together and strengthening the case regarding the image portrayed on the face of the postcard. If anybody has information to the contrary in respect to these alphanumeric codes, please let me know in comments. The only thing left to speculate upon, was whether the 1990 Celebrity Cypher was authored by the Zodiac Killer or somebody attempting to mimic the Zodiac Killer.

There have been numerous theories put forward, including from Sandy Betts, who has expressed her reservations on whether the Celebrity Cypher has Carmel Beach on the face of the card. She believes there may be a connection to the John and Joyce Swindle murder, alongside Ocean Beach, San Diego on February 5th 1964. She stated on Zodiac Killer Site forum"On Wednesday, February 5, 1964, Navy radio-man third class Johnny Ray Swindle and his newlywed wife Joyce were violently murdered along the "Ocean Beach" Boardwalk next to the Silver Spray Apartments. Swindle had married his childhood sweetheart on January 18, 1964 and they stayed in a three room cottage nine blocks from where they would eventually be slain. According to the San Diego Union Newspaper, five shots were fired from the sniper position above. Police said two more were fired at close range. Indicating that the killer fired the last two shots into their heads in a kind of coup de grâce. Their murder case remains unsolved to this day, however, there are many persons who believe the murders were committed by the infamous Zodiac Killer". She further elaborated on Zodiac Killer Forumotion"The "Ocean Beach" that I believe it is was, is in San Diego Ca.I knew about two murders there on Feb. 5th 1964. They were John and Joyce Swindle. The stamp that was used backs up what I believe. The stamp is of Marianne Moore who died on Feb. 5th 1972, I do not think that was coincidence".

The Zodiac Killer began his cipher mailings to the Vallejo Times-Herald on July 31st 1969, to which he mailed part one of a three-part cipher to Bay Area newspapers. So this 1990 offering in ciphertext (if Zodiac) would mean the only two confirmed mailings to the Vallejo Times-Herald would both have contained code. The characters of the code are certainly recognizable, but not difficult to replicate for anybody who knows something about the Zodiac Killer. The Bay Area murderer gloried in his narcissism, parading himself in an executioner's costume at Lake Berryesssa on September 27th 1969, so designing a postcard based on the Celebrity Ciphers of Luis Campos would not be beyond him. These ciphers were published regularly in the newspapers featuring well-known people, past and present. The reader had to identify the person and quote from the encoded text. The idea that the Zodiac Killer, deeming himself a celebrity, would then tease us a further time with his name, is not so far-fetched.

You can see that the foot of the Luis Campos cipher solution on the right is reserved for the celebrity's name (in this case, John Lee Hooker). Bearing in mind the positioning of the characters shown above, with the left side of the postcard normally reserved for the name and address - and with the final 5 and 8 characters identical to the beginning of the cipher, we should expect the red rectangles to contain the name of the postcard author. The blue rectangle to contain the address and the green rectangle to harbor the message. If this were the Zodiac Killer, being the celebrity that he is, what better way to encipher this message with one of his old quotes.

The communication that most springs to mind when we are attempting to discover the name of the Zodiac Killer, is the April 20th 1970 "My Name Is" 13 symbol cipher. That being 2 letters, followed by 4 letters, followed by 2 letters and finally his name of 13 letters (split into forename and surname). Well look at that. The 1990 Celebrity Cipher ends in a formation of 2, 4, 2 and 13. This was a Zodiac quote so good, they even named the correspondence after it. But what about the first four words in the Celebrity Cypher message. What Zodiac communication was this chosen from?

You would expect the revelation of his name to be preceded by a question, such as "do you know me" or "if you want me", followed by the answer. This is obviously assuming there is a second letter obscured by the stamp. He teased us similarly in the October 27th 1970 'Halloween' card stating "you ache to know my name. And so I'll clue you in", and in the 408 cipher with "in this cipher is my idenity". But he always failed to deliver. If we combine part of the 'Halloween' card phrase with the April 20th 1970 letter, we get "you ache to know my name. My nameis". Replacing the first "my name" with "me" in the form of a question, it is my guess the Celebrity Cypher reads something along the lines of "do you know me. My name is".If the 1990 Celebrity Cypher was truly by the Zodiac Killer, his name should be 5 and 8 letters in length, mirroring the '13 Symbol' cipher - but forgive me for being skeptical.